Sick BG continued

[mrogan]

SOrry oops I hit enter on accident.
since I had only fed one baby before I didn't have much of a reference point so I have been tryiong to read online and have bought books, to see what my bird should look like at what age and make sure that he/she is progressing the way that he/she should. BUT I got the bird home on Friday evening, and by saturday morning I knew that something wasn't right. I spoke to the breeder various times throught the whole weekend, yet I still had an unsettling feeling the baby's crop was very slow to empty.
I took the bird to an only avian vet on Monday morning and she was horrified!!!!! my bird looked like a 6 six day old bird ( she showed me in a text book) yet he was 5 1/2 weeks old. I will give the list of things the vet noticed immediately.

The bird was missing MANY parts of his/her toes.
the beak was growing incorrectly
the scabs (the eyes were not open yet, and still aren't) were up too high
severely under weight. supposed to weigh 686 grams, weighed 83 grams. Yes i did type 83 grams. she did a culture and gave me three meds.
Reglan to start his digestive system and help with crop emptying, diflucan an antifungal, and baytril an antibiotic. Let me say she hesitantly treated this bird, after condsideration and much discussion she agreed. she thought I should bring him back immediately, however I thought that if this bird was neglected bringing him back would be a death sentence. So i decided to commit to getting this bird healthy.
the reglan for crop emptying helped almost immediatly. i was able to feed the bird the proper amount every three hours and I did so for four days, we went back today for a checkup, and to my dismay my baby LOST weight. how can this be???????

the vet now thinks it MAY be cryptosporidium and she gave me three additional injectables and the bird is now on all six meds. SHe explained that there is a test for this but we haven't got the time to wait for results we would see difference in one day on the meds for crypto if it was that anyway. so that is where we are currently. I just gave her, her night meds and injectables, and I am now praying that I can help pull this baby out of it. Is there anything that anyone can think of that the vet has maybe overlooked, I have really bonded with this baby and I love it immensly and i have fully commited to getting her healthy. I forgot to mention above that the results of the culture were heavy Eccoli growth.
Thank you for anyone who takes the time to read this ridiculously long post. I just wanted to give all of the info that I could to see if anyone can help.
thanks
mrogan

[mrogan]

The first post that I accidentally hit enter on isn't showing up. SO i will try to remeber what I had said in that part. I want you all to have every fact and bit of info as possible so you can help me. I think I just discussed my bird experience as to explain why I didn't know at first sight that this was a sick "stunted" bird.
I have had about 15 to 20 birds as pets in my life and I had only hand fed one bird before, my African Grey Parrot and I was not the sole caretaker for this bird I was going to the breeders house for at least one feed per day. SO when the opportunity presented itself to hand feeed this little one I was hesitant and proceeded with much caution.
Anyway, I had told the breeder that I wasn't fully comfortable with taking the bird at this stage, it looks to young and so helpless, but after getting to know me over the course of several months he said he was confident that I would do just fine, and I should give it a try. Well thank god that I did, becasue he was either neglecting the bird or ignorant. THis bird is severly stunted. It weighs 76 grams today March 29, and when I took him/her home he weighed 93 grams ( he is consistenly loosing weight) however a BIRD of his age is supposed to weigh 686 grams. Yes 686. The vet was standoffish to me at first meeting me, however she has grown over a week to love me and my bird. SHe hugs me and is really trying right beside me to save this little guy. I think she was standoffish before she knew when I got him. ( she thought I did this to him) when I explained that I only got him on Friday night and brought the bird to her MOnday morning she eased up. SHe sees my level of commitment to this baby now too, by far do I have a lot of money at all, however, I went and got this baby a Brooder immediately after leaving her office the first time finding out he was sick, I have kept all of my follow up appts with her and we talk on the off days that I don;t go back. I just wanted all of you to know that yes by years I am inexperienced but that has nothing to do with my intelligence, or my will to make this baby make it. I will read anything I can get my hands on, or listen to anyone that is willing to comment. As i state later in this post I am learning more in the last week than a lifetime of pet bird experience. I am now injectiing her nine times a day along with all of the other meds. Any ideas what this could be, so we can treat it??? I feel like this baby is hanging on giving these stupid humans as much time as the baby can for us to find out what it is to treat him, but I know he doesn't have much longer, he is skin and bones, and very pale along with everything else I mentioned. PLEASE HELP!!!! I AM SO SCARED FOR MY BUDDY.
Thanks for anyone taking the time to read my venting long posts.
mrogan

[kensbuns]

This is exactly why breeders should be jailed for selling unweaned baby birds. It makes me sick to my stomach just reading. The person I would direct you to for help is no longer a member of this board so I dont know who to set you up with to help. Personally I would hire a professional to wean out your baby bird and then sue the pants off that breeder. And never never ever buy an unweaned baby bird. Simply not a good investment!!!!!

[mrogan]

Please forgive my rant on the other part of the board, however there were no repsonses of substance like this response you posted. Who do you mean a person to wean, my vet said we shouldnt worry about that yet because this bird is soooo stunted we need to get him healthy and then proceed in that direction, but where would i find someone like you are mentioning. by the way he does look a little better today, he is much pinker, and from the lactaid ringers injections i am giving him his skin doesn't look as dry and like saran wrap looking. So overall when I spoke to the vet an hour ago she said she hopes i will get him through this weekend and see her monday. she allso applauded my devotion and stated that most people would have looked at this situation like a purchase and returned the broken item. I didn;t look at it that way obviously. Especially since the breeder told me to bring him back many times in the last couple of days If I want and he will give me any bird I want. I want this one to make it, and I want to give him/her the best chance by not giving him to the man who neglected and stunted him in the first place.
Thank you for your help it is greatly appreciated.
Michelle

[Zoe's Mom]

I dont know if it is just late and I am tired or if I am the only one getting very confused here but.....is it possible to get all the posts from the different areas into one place? I am trying to keep up with whats going on but jumping from place to place is causing more confusion for me.

[kensbuns]

Originally Posted by mrogan

Please forgive my rant on the other part of the board, however there were no repsonses of substance like this response you posted. Who do you mean a person to wean, my vet said we shouldnt worry about that yet because this bird is soooo stunted we need to get him healthy and then proceed in that direction, but where would i find someone like you are mentioning. by the way he does look a little better today, he is much pinker, and from the lactaid ringers injections i am giving him his skin doesn't look as dry and like saran wrap looking. So overall when I spoke to the vet an hour ago she said she hopes i will get him through this weekend and see her monday. she allso applauded my devotion and stated that most people would have looked at this situation like a purchase and returned the broken item. I didn;t look at it that way obviously. Especially since the breeder told me to bring him back many times in the last couple of days If I want and he will give me any bird I want. I want this one to make it, and I want to give him/her the best chance by not giving him to the man who neglected and stunted him in the first place.
Thank you for your help it is greatly appreciated.
Michelle

I didnt mean weaned, but had fed for you. I admire your intentions,but now the content of your last post to the other spaces on the board. I was just getting frustrated and upset that this bird ever left the breeder in the first place. Coming off at me in a mean spirited way is not called for, Ive been a member here for a really long time. I was only trying to help.

[mrogan]

well maybe you should look at your delivery, because it appeared to me that YOU were coming off in a mean spirited way. You obviously feel that you didn't , and okay I accept that but I've gotta tell you that it defineltely appeared that way from my view. SO lets just forget it and move on. Thank you for your help otherwise any help is greatly appreciated. The bird is doing so well by the way. She is 94 grams and looking very healthy, we haven't been back to the vet since last week, we go tomorrow I can't wait.

[angie]

Im happy to here your bird is doing well!!!!

[Valo's Moirana]

i guess i can't be of much help - generally i agree with kensbuns... the breeder should have never sold the baby to you, but i guess it's too late to debate that... finding somebody experienced who could help you hand feed the baby could be highly beneficial to exclude problems due to inproper feeding... other than that - you're already in close contact to your vet, which is certainly the other thing i would have recommended....

i hope your baby will be fine - glad to hear, she's doing better.... please keep us posted

[mrogan]

After THe last time I posted, I was soo scared and upset, the vet and I agreed to try one more regimen of new meds, and other stuff to see if we could bring her out of the stunting or possibly put the baby to sleep, (to my horror) when the vet mentioned that I was shocked, but she said that we may be torturing her keeping her alive.


She is doing awesome!!!! she is coming out of the stunting just last week!! The bird gained over 100 grams last week alone. she is all of the sudden as of two days ago covered in little marks which will soon be feathers. she has grown tremendously. the vet said last week that she was proud of me and that I said I was committed to saving this bird and she thinks I did it. To her surprise. YEAH!!! thank you everyone for all of your help. Now I will need your help on the next stages since she won't be stuck a baby anymore, we named her baby because my son said mommy lets name her baby because she has been a baby way longer than she was supposed to right?
thanks again for all of your help everyone!1